HERMOSA BEACH, Calif. — It had been four years since Sophie Bukovec played a full season on the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour. In March, when she made her debut as Brandie Wilkerson’s new partner, she asked her blocker the most vital of questions in the social media-driven sport that is beach volleyball: Who do I need to follow on Instagram?
Wilkerson’s reply may surprise you, and it certainly did Bukovec. It wasn’t any of the women dropping regular content. Not any of the men posting wildly athletic highlights. Wasn’t Volleyball World or the AVP or any governing organizations, where bits of news may be gleaned.
It was, rather, an unsuspecting individual: “Theo Brunner.”
When Bukovec began to investigate the matter for herself, she found herself “crying laughing,” she recalled on a podcast in early September. “So funny.”
In a sporting world gone mad with overused clichés, bromides, and facades that resemble nothing of the human being behind the app, Brunner provides a refreshing dose of candor. His social media presence, however light and moderately used, is positively hysterical. His post-match interviews, typically forgettable affairs to which most won’t bother tuning in, have become must-watch television. Take, for example, his chat with Julius Brink following what is likely the biggest win of his season, a quarterfinal victory in the World Championships over Alex Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen. The back and forth with Brunner and Chaim Schalk was a work of digitized modern art.
Brunner: “I sucked really bad at blocking. I couldn’t have done any worse. Every decision was wrong. There was a bunch of low ones where I still went high and got chiseled. It was super frustrating, so the fact that we won with our sideout is a big win for sure.”
Schalk: “That’s just Theo for you.”
Brunner: “He sucks at defense too.”
Schalk: “For sure. I’m trying to stand in there, I took a ball right off my face, and you didn’t even set me very well on it. It was a trap set.”
Brunner: “It was pretty good.”
When you’re finished laughing, what’s important to note is this: That win vaulted Brunner and Schalk into the medal rounds of the World Championships. It pushed them into the No. 1 spot in the USA Volleyball rankings. It gave them a shot at qualifying for…
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